Displaced by threats, old life gives way to new
For seven years I lived in Panajachel, a tourist town on the beautiful Atitlán Lake in Guatemala. There, my husband, Juan Miguel Arrivillaga, and I started a family and the independent news outlet Anti Magazine. We also hosted a radio program on the local station Radio Ati.
For exiled Eritreans in Sudan, fear greater than most
With the launch of CPJ’s most recent exile report, I will have worked exactly three years for our Journalist Assistance program. More than 500 cases later, I have helped journalists who have gone into hiding or exile to escape threats; those in need of medicine and other support while in prison, and journalists injured after…
Q&A: Nadira Isayeva on exile from Dagestan, in US
Nadira Isayeva, a 2010 CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner, has been living in exile since she left her native Dagestan, in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, in November 2011. Isayeva, the editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Chernovik, had been harassed by security forces for her relentless, critical coverage of their heavy-handed anti-terrorism operations in the…
Journalist fined for defamation in Egypt
Cairo, June 18, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the legal action taken against an Egyptian journalist who was fined for defamation, and calls on the appeals court to reverse the ruling. In an unrelated incident, authorities briefly detained on Saturday an Egyptian journalist covering the run-off to the presidential election.
Nigerian journalist assaulted in front of military, police
Abuja, June 18, 2012–Nigerian authorities must investigate the assault on a Nigerian journalist on June 14 and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. News accounts reported that the attack occurred in the presence of military and police officers who did not come to the journalist’s aid.
Ethiopian law criminalizes independent telecom use
Nairobi, June 15, 2012–A new law in Ethiopia imposes prison sentences for offenses related to the independent use of telecommunications tools and services, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by broad and vaguely worded provisions of the law, under which journalists could be prosecuted for the methods…
In Ghana, police assault journalist, seize his equipment
Abuja, June 15, 2012–Authorities in Ghana must investigate the assault on a journalist by police while covering a police raid in Ho, the capital of Ghana’s Volta region, and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Victor Kwawukume, who reports for the state-owned Daily Graphic and is the regional chairman…
US senator condemns Ethiopia’s persecution of the press
On Wednesday, the same day the White House announced a strategic plan committing the United States to elevating its efforts in “challenging leaders whose actions threaten the credibility of democratic processes” in sub-Saharan Africa, a senior member of the U.S. Congress challenged the erosion of press freedom in a key U.S. strategic partner in the…
Fourth journalist killed in Veracruz in two months
Mexico City, June 14, 2012–The body of Mexican journalist Víctor Manuel Báez Chino was found today in Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz state. He is the fourth journalist to be killed in Veracruz in the past two months. Báez’s body was recovered this morning near the main square in Xalapa, according to news reports. In…